Mistakes are mine.

RCV

Sue and Emma had a fight, a rare one, and she needed to separate herself so she can figure out why the fight even occurred. Maybe it was all the tension happening around them. Maybe it was because she was aching for children she had only cared about from a distance and was now thrust into their lives. Maybe it was because she felt helpless and took it out on Emma who was only trying to help.

Sue pulled into a nearby parking lot, unaware and uncaring of where she was, and she dropped her head against the steering wheel. She was getting too old for the runaround and the conflicts and the arguments. She was tired, which is why when she met Emma, that had all changed. Emma was the best thing to happen to her in a long time, and she was ruining it by doing the same shit she was doing with her other exes.

She-

A knock on her window broke her out of her musings and she looked up, coming face to face with none other than Finn Hudson. His tie was crooked, and his suit was wrinkled, but he looked better than he did on a regular day.

"Coach? What are you doing here?"

Sue blinked and looked around. She had pulled into a church parking lot. Not just any church, Russell Fabray's church, and she wasn't the only car there. She groaned and turned off the car before she got out.

Finn shifted side to side and gestured to the church with his head. "Um, so, you here for the ceremony?" he asked hesitantly.

Sue wanted to ask what he meant by that, but behind Finn, she caught sight of Quinn trudging along behind her parents with a solemn look on her face. She was wearing a long white dress that brushed the ground as she walked with a crown of flowers on her head. Sue immediately knew something was wrong. Finn followed her line of sight and he groaned.

"Damn. I was hoping she would stay hidden long enough to avoid this," he said.

"Avoid what?"

Finn stiffened and looked around. He dropped his head and whispered, "Come inside, and you'll see."

Sue had her red flags, alarms, and warning bells going off at full volume. She pulled out her phone and acted like she was getting a call.

"I have to take this," she lied. "I forgot I had a plumber coming to the house and I need to tell him where to go."

Finn nodded. "Sure. I'll save you a seat," he said.

Sue could easily read he was nervous and trying to play along. She sighed and nodded.

"That would be nice."

Finn bobbed his head and walked off. Emma quickly dialed Emma's number, looked around to make sure no one was going to sneak up on her, and when her girlfriend picked up, she gave her no time to speak.

"Something weird is going down at the church on Hampton. I have a bad feeling about it. Quinn's here, looking like some cult wife, and Finn is here and he's nervous as hell. I'm going inside just in case. I'm really, really sorry about earlier. You were only trying to help and I was being an idiot, but I'm an idiot who loves you with everything I am. If you don't hear from me in two hours, then call Leroy. And tell him I'm sorry too."

Sue quickly hung up the phone and walked to the church. She managed to catch up with Finn, and she clapped him on the shoulder. The two made their way inside. Sue, in the back of her mind, knew she was walking into the lion's den, and she knew that if she didn't call or text Emma in one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and thirty seconds, the members of this church will have a fiery, redheaded bombshell of an awakening.

Emma stared at her phone with a myriad of emotions going across her face. For a moment, she wanted to call back and scream at her girlfriend for being so reckless, but then she thought about it logically. Sue knew it was a bad idea going into the church, but Emma knew that Sue's heart bled for those kids, and she would do anything to protect them. Unfortunately, Emma was impatient.

Emma snatched her coat off the rack and the only keys left in the bowl. She dialed Leroy's number as she left the house, making sure to triple lock it in case someone got any ideas.

Emma? I was just about to call you. Are you and Sue free tonight for-

"Sue might be in trouble," she interrupted.

He went silent for a moment.

Come to the Lopez residence.

Emma frowned. "Why are you there?"

Tell you later.

The call dropped and Emma paused before she got close to the car. She groaned when she realized it was Sue's car sitting in the driveway.

"Dammit, Sue. You-

Emma paused and cocked her head. Her beloved girlfriend was a stickler for safety and for protection, and Emma knew that Sue had little safety measures in place when it came to her car. Specifically, a mirror under the carriage. It was hidden, and if you knew where to look, you could see it. She glanced down at the spot where she knew the mirror was tucked into the back tire, and that's when she saw it. Emma took slow steps back until she was down the street and hidden behind a pole. Her fingers trembled as she pressed the start button on Sue's key and heard the engine come to life.

Seconds later, a massive explosion shook the front of her house. Her windows blew out, but thankfully, that was the extent of the damage. Emma's heart leaped into her throat. She took off at a dead sprint through the back streets of her neighborhood towards the Lopez residence. The streets blurred for her as the realization settled in that had Sue not taken Emma's car that evening-

Emma skidded to a stop and glanced behind her, a billowing smoke cloud not even three blocks away. Part of her wanted to turn around and go to the church, drag her girlfriend out by the hair if need be, but she knew she had to get help. Emma swiped at her face and kept running towards her only hope at saving Sue.

Santana closed the basement door behind her and locked it just as fists started pounding onto her front door. She already knew who it was, but she was not expecting to see her so disheveled.

"Whoa, Miss E, what happened?" Santana asked, ushering Emma inside.

"S-someone…car…Sue…bomb…fire," Emma stammered.

Santana gladly stepped out of the way when came over. He wrapped his arms around Emma and held her, rocking her side to side until the woman was calmer.

"Okay, take deep breaths, and tell us what happened?" he prodded gently.

"S-Sue and I had a fight and she left the house. She just called me and said she's at that church on Hampton. I was," Emma paused and sniffed, "I was about to get in the car when I realized she'd taken my car and left me with hers. Sue is paranoid about certain things and she taught me how to look out for trouble. Someone put a bomb under her car and she's at that church all alone and-

"We're going there. Now," Santana interrupted.

"Now hold on a minute," Leroy said.

"No. Not a chance. Sue is like my- she's like my- dammit! You know what Sue is to me and it sounds like someone's coming after her. We're going to that church!" Santana exclaimed.

Emma paced the foyer and wrung her fingers together.

"That's the thing," she said softly. "It might not just be Sue that's in trouble."

Santana and Leroy frowned.

"Who else is in trouble?" he asked.

Emma glanced at Leroy meaningfully, and Leroy sighed.

"Oh no."

Santana looked between the two of them in confusion. "Oh no what" she asked.

"She should've never gone in there alone."

"Why? What's going on?" Santana asked.

"It wasn't by choice," Emma said. "She has a bleeding heart and you know she wouldn't have waited for answers. Not with that."

"Not with what?" Santana asked louder.

"And she doesn't know about the bomb, I'm assuming?" Leroy sighed.

"I came straight here and-

"GODDAMIT! SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" Santana shouted.

Leroy turned around to face her directly. "Think about it, Santana," he said. "If Sue is at Russell's church, why would she willingly walk into such a dangerous environment? Who there would cause Sue to make such an impulsive decision like that?"

Santana threw her hands into the air. "How the hell am I supposed to know? Can you just tell me?" she whined.

Leroy sighed and Emma came up to Santana, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's Russell's church, San. Think about it," she said slowly.

Leroy knew what was coming before Emma. He bear-hugged Santana to his chest just as she made a move for the door. She punched and smacked at him, but he refused to put her down.

"Put me down!" she screamed.

"I raised Rachel Berry, Santana. It's going to take a lot more than a couple of punches for that to happen," he grunted. "You cannot and will not go running off to that church like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it is too dangerous!"

"Fuck you! You don't care about them like I do!"

Leroy picked Santana off the ground and carried her into the living room with Emma behind them. He gently tossed Santana onto the couch and Emma quickly gathered the girl into her arms. He knelt in front of Santana and pointed at her.

"You will not speak to me in that manner. I am not your father, but based on Antonio's track record, I know you've been a little lacking in that department so you might not understand how it works anymore. So listen to me very carefully, I never said we weren't going to go after Sue and Quinn, but we will not go in that church guns blazing. That is not the type of place for something like that. Take a deep breath, and let's work this out logically."

Santana stared at him for a long moment. Leroy met her gaze evenly and she lunged forward. He caught her with ease as Rachel had a bad habit of tackling him during her more 'emotional' outbursts as a child, and Santana cried into his shirt. He rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry I was so harsh with you. That isn't my place," he said.

"It's okay," she muttered.

Santana shifted and plopped down on the floor next to him. He hesitantly pulled her into a side hug, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I can't let anything happen to Sue or Quinn. They're the only family I have," she said. Santana played with her fingers before she added in an almost whisper, "Well, they were the only family that I had."

Leroy risked a punch to the stomach when he kissed the top of her head. When nothing happened, he said, "I'm not your father, but I've watched you grow into a beautiful young woman with a big heart. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can always come to me."

Santana nodded and wiped at her face. She coughed and moved out of Leroy's reach, climbing to her feet. Leroy knew an emotional subject change better than anyone, and he gladly let her take control of the situation.

"Okay, so how do we do this? What's the first step?"

"First, despite every bone in my body telling me otherwise, we have to call Puck and my children," Leroy said.

Sue settled into the back row while Finn reluctantly walked to the front. She memorized every face, every detail and straightened when she saw Quinn and Brittany near the front. Brittany looked excited while Quinn seemed resigned. The lights dimmed, much to Sue's relief, and she made sure her phone was on silent as a man she only saw in passing took place behind the podium.

"Welcome! Tonight, we have something very special planned for you!"

A boulder dropped into Sue's stomach as the spotlight shone on Quinn, Finn, Brittany, and several other McKinley high students.

"Tonight is the night these young soldiers have been waiting for." The man raised his arms and shouted, "Let the purification ceremony begin!"

"…shit," Sue whispered.